Blast-furnace



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet' 1.

E. WALSH, Jr.

BLAST FURNACE.

NO. 366,282. Patented July 12. 18 87.

Attas'x I 1511 812501 %M. 62wa4/%4 6.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

I E. WALSH, Jr.

7 BLAST FURNACE. No. 366,282, Patented July 12, 1887.

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c aw m/%dfi/ 4 M QQWZI aZ/ U ITE STATES PATENT Fries,

EDW ARD WVALSH, JR, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

BLAST-FURNACE.

$PECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 366,282, dated July 12,1887.

Application filed September 1, 1185. Serial No.175,888. (No model.)Patented in France October 13, 1886, No. 179,02]; in Belgium October 18,1886, No. 74,879,- in England OrtUbOl 1?, 1886. No. 13,2li6,'and inAustria-Hungary February 25, 18:57, No.

4],219 and No. 886.

by Austrio-Hungarian Letters Patent No.

4l,2l9886, dated February 25, 1887; in Great Britain by British LettersPatent No. 13,266, dated October 18, 1886; in Belgium by Belgian LettersPatent No. 74,879, dated Octo ber 18, 1886; in France by French LettersPatent No. 179,021, dated October 13, 1886; and for which an applicationfor German Letters Patent was lodged in the Patent Office of theGcrmanEmpire on October 18, 1886; of which said improvement the following is afull, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to theannexed'drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to important modifications in the internal form andin the structural arrangement of blast-furnaces, which may be said toconsist generally of cylinder for hearth, an inverted. truncated conefor bosh, and a truncated cone for shaft. Owing to the internalconfiguration and arrangement of these parts as heretofore adopted it isfound that in the descent of the fuel, layers, and orefluxes at thatportion of the furnace where they are in a semi-molten or viscid statetheir tendency is to adhere to the boshes and furnace-walls, and to thisadhesion is to be attributed most of the evils and irregularitiesincidental to the best designed blast-furnaces of the dayviz. rapiddeterioration of the hearthlining, high silicon, small yield of a poorquality of white'iron, chilling, jumping, and scaffolding, to removewhich recourse has been had to the percussive drill, overhead tnyere,cannon, coal-oil, gunpowder, and dynamite.

My invention has for its objects to prevent the adhesion of slag orsemimolten metal on the boshes and furnace-walls, so as to insure anuninterrupted flow of the materials and a larger output of metal fromthe furnace, and to regulate the quality and quantity of the product atwill; to minimize the tendency of the walls to bulge or give outwardly;to provide means of cooling the furnace externally, and to repair thesame without disturbing the furnaceshaft, if desired, while the furnaceis in operation.

My invention consists- First, in placing the entire bosh and widestdiameter thereof well down within the zone of complete fusion, andthence rapidly inclining the walls of the furnace-upward to a certainheight, so as to overhang the bosh, the furnaceshaft being continuedfrom this part with a gradual inclination sufficient to allow of theeasy descent of the materials to be acted upon into the furnace withoutdisturbing the disposi tion in which such materials are charged. Indetermining the relative dimensions of a furnace, especially as tolocatingthe top ofthe bosh within the zone of fusion, the questions asto the capacity of this zone of fusion must be determined by the densityof the fuel, the tem perature, pressure, and volume of the blast, andthe natures of the ores and fluxes to be employed. Thus it is determinedthat hard driving with increased volume of blast at a lower temperaturetreating less refractory ores will produce a larger zone of fusion,Whereas slow driving, high temperature of the blast, refractory ores,and less dense fuel produce a smaller zone of fusion. The particularconstruction illustrated in the drawings accoin panying thespecification is for the treatment of very refractory hematite ofmagnetic ores with a dense coke employing the temperature of the blastabout 800 Fahrenheit at a pressure of about four pounds per inch and involume of about sixteen thousand cubic feet per minute. Vith atuyere-circle of ten feetin diameter, when the furnace is working underthe above-named conditions, the zone of fusion is then about eight feetup when the inclination of the bosh is about three inches per foot, andit has been so delineated.

Secondly, in laying the joints of the brickwork composing the fu rnaceproper and hearth at an inclination. downward and inward-to ward thecenter of the furnace,

Thirdly, in surrounding the furnace proper externally with a double rowof columns, one

as to overhang the bosh 0 until they reach a portion or zone, E,of thefurnace A,where the materials being acted upon are in a more or lesssolid condition. By this particular location of the bosh G andoverhanging form of the furnace-walls-D between the bosh O and zone Ethe current of air from the tuyeres is more perfectly disseminatedthroughout the outer portions of the materials in the furnace than withordinary wide boshes, and any adhesion of slag or semi molten materialsaround the bosh O is prevented partly by the intense heat thereof andpartly by the refiex and delivery from the overhanging walls D of thefurnace A. Similarly, also, any temporary adhesion of semi-moltenmaterial round said walls is prevented.

7 From the. line or zone E the furnace-shaft B tapers or diminishesgradually upward with just sufficient inclination to allow of the easydescent of the solid contents of the furnace without disturbing ormixing the materials as they are relatively disposed and charged fromthe hopper F into the furnace.

In constru ctingihe furnace A the bricks composing the walls D are laidwith their joints inclined from the outside downward toward the centerof the furnace, as seenin Fig. 2, by which arrangement the weight of thebricks willgravitate inward, and, pressing upon one another, will closeor consolidate the structure,thereby lessening the tendency of the wallsD to bulge or spread and also preventing the molten metal from escaping,through the joints of the brickwork. The joints of the'bricks composingthe hearth Gare also inclined inwardly and obliquely toward theeenter ofthe furnace, so as to form a firm resisting-base. I 7 To obviate thedifficulty and inconvenience hitherto experienced in obtaining access tosuitable distances apart around the outside of the furnace A. By thismeans the furnace A is rendered a separate construction from the shaftB, and can be easily got at for repairs or removal without disturbingthe shaft B. Such arrangement also allows of a lighter construction ofthe furnace A, and thereby facilitates the cooling of the brick-work byadmitting of the circulation of air around the outside of thecomparatively thin walls D of the furnace A.

The above-described system of supporting the furnace-shaft B on columnsH H separately from but combined with the furnace A and the mode ofarranging the bricks in the construction of the latter may also beapplied to any other description of blast-furnace.

I I are the tuyeres, J the blast-pipe,and K the water-jacket, which,with the remaining parts shown on the drawings or appertaining tofurnace, are similar to those used in ordinary blast-furnaces.

I claim as my invention- 1. A blast-furnace in which the bosh C islocated well down within the zone of fusion instead of at an upper andcolder portion thereof, or at a portion too far removed horizontallyfrom the heating influences of the ascending gases, as heretofore,substantially as shown, and for the purpose specified.

2. A blast-furnace in which the bricks composing the walls of thefurnace are laid at an inclination toward the center of the furnace,substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

3. The double row ofcolumns H H, in combination with the fnrnaceshaft B,formed as described, substantially as described, andfor the purposespecified.

4. The double row of columns H H, supporting the furnace-shaft B,in'combination with the furnace A, formed as described, sub stantiallyas and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in presence of twowitnesses, this 25th day of August, 1885. v

EDWARD WALSH, JR.

Witnessesz.

PAUL BAKEWELL, Jos. W. OROOKES.'

IOO

